Many racers start their careers in karts while in grade school, a decade before they are even legal to drive on the streets. It is not uncommon to have a driver compete in over 500 races before they advance to the professional ranks. Michael Cooper may have set a modern day record in winning the 2012 Pirelli World Challenge Touring Car Drivers Championship in his MAZDASPEED3. Cooper's entire racing career has been less than 50 races, all of them in a Mazda, and all of them since 2009 when he attended the Skip Barber Racing School at Lime Rock Park.

Cooper drove his Atlanta Motorsports Group-prepared MAZDASPEED3 to six wins in the season's 14 races. During the weekend-closing triple-header at Sonoma Raceway, Cooper finished third, second and ended the season with a flag-to-flag victory, including the fastest race lap, in the final race of the season. As the only Mazda competing against a dozen Hondas and VWs, Cooper came close to giving Mazda a manufacturers' championship as well. At the series awards dinner, Cooper also was recognized as the Touring Car Rookie-Of-The-Year and Atlanta Motorsports Group was named Touring Car Team-Of-The-Year.

In addition to his six wins, Cooper started from the pole in seven races, led 11 races, and led the most laps in six. He finished in the top-five in 13 of 14 races. His only glitch was crash damage received in the second Mid-Ohio race, which resulted in his only DNF of the year. Cooper's year-long rival for the championship was Todd Lamb. Lamb is another Mazda ladder grad, having won the 2009 MX-5 Cup Championship and the 2008 NASA Spec Miata Championship.